CreatiVets' mission is to provide combat veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury with opportunities to use art, music, and creative writing to heal their unseen wounds of war. Our goal is to empower veterans with tools they can use for the rest of their lives and enable them to see their own capacity for success in an arena outside the battlefield.

“
It's hard to express in words how I felt after that experience, but I know I let go of something deep and feel that this experience is going to allow me to maintain that positive attitude while giving me the courage to live a meaningful life with my children.
”

—
Veteran Participant, Art Program

“
One day in the session did more for me than months of therapy.
”

—
Veteran

“
He continues to play this song on a daily basis. This was able to help him not only during the trip and in the days after but that he will now have something he can play during times when he is struggling. In that sense, the song has provided another avenue of healing.
”

—
Wife of a Veteran

“
The song allows m to convey a message held deep within and allows my loved ones to see a part of me they never have understood.
”

—
Veteran

We are thrilled to share with you a video from our first “Intro to Art for Veterans” course at Virginia Commonwealth University. Eight veterans attended this three week program in June, and it was a tremendous success. The support we received from VCU, the art and veteran communities in Virginia, and from our generous sponsors and donors, are what helped make this program not only possible, and we are so thankful. Thank you also to our incredible veteran participants!

CreatiVets currently offers veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) with two program opportunities - a songwriting program that pairs the veteran with accomplished songwriters in Nashville, TN to write a song that creatively expresses their story, and a three week art program with The School of the Art Institute (SAIC) in Chicago, IL where the veteran learns ceramics, painting and photography.

Through these programs, veterans learn the benefits of using art and music as a form of stress and anxiety relief. They also create incredible artwork and songs that enable the veteran to tell his or her story in a way that creates something beautiful out of something tragic. In addition to the veteran participant's healing, other veterans, family members and members of the general public that listen to these songs and view these art pieces are able to connect with and relate to these experiences in ways that also promote their own healing and understanding.